BEING the Philippine’s largest city in terms of land area, and now, being the home of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Davao City continues to grow as a city and develop in terms of economic enterprise and infrastructures.
But before the city came to be the Davao that we know today -- the road was long.
Local Historian Rogelio Lizada said the word Davao is the product of the phonetic blending of the words for the three Bagobo subgroups referring to the Davao River.
The Obo, considered the earliest aboriginal people of this territory, called the river Davoh. The K'lata (Obo-Ata mestizo), Diangan or Guiangan (Obo-Bagobo mestizo) called the river Duhwow. The Tagabawa Bagobo called it Dabu.
Commonwealth Act No. 51
On March 1, 1937, eight decades and a year ago, Davao became a city by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 51 signed by former President Manuel L. Quezon. The new city was a merger of the Municipality of Davao and the Municipal district of Guianga.
A century before, it was a land inhabited by indigenous peoples, later colonized by Spain in the mid-1800s led by Don Jose Uyanguren under the orders of Governor-General Narciso Claveria.
Rapid economic progress began in the early 1900s under American rule when roads, telegraph lines and ports were set-up. Abaca and coconut plantations, business branches and factories were established. The period saw the entry of migrants from Luzon and the Visayas along with the Chinese, Japanese and the Americans.
The city in its early years was governed by a succession of appointed leaders — Santiago Artiaga from 1936 to 1939, Agustin Alvarez from 1939 to 1940 and Pantaleon Pelayo, Sr. from 1940 to 1942 and from May to December 1945.
Japanese occupation
The Japanese landed in Davao on December 20, 1941, and effectively controlled the city. The mayors during the Japanese occupation were Alfonso G. Obonza, Sr. (1943 to 1943), Melencio Sarenas (1943 to 1944) and Donato C. Endriga (1944 to 1945).
According to an article written by Antonio Figueroa, the city’s economic progress was negated when the war broke out.
“Commercial areas were flattened, roads linking to interior regions were eviscerated by aerial bombs, power supply was totally wiped out, population centers devastated, and nearly every trace of a city on its way to becoming an economic leader in Mindanao disappeared,” Figueroa said.
The city was liberated when the Americans came in 1945. Immediately after the liberation, the City Government was re-established. Despite suffering tremendous devastation during the war, the city’s road to progress resumed.
Road to progress
In 1946, the Davao Light and Power Company, Inc. was revived. Despite its damaged machinery, it was the first sign of hope that the city will again rise from the ashes of the war. Other establishments were opened, like the San Pedro Hospital (1948) and the Apo View Hotel, the first high-rise building in the City in 1953.
Educational institutions like Mindanao Colleges (now University of Mindanao), Rizal Memorial Colleges and San Pedro College were also founded.
In 1955, Republic Act 1368 was signed into law which provided for the election of the City Mayor, Vice Mayor, and 10 City Councilors.
In November 1955, the first local city elections were held, and Carmelo Porras was elected Mayor for the first time.
Elias Lopez, a full-blooded Bagobo was elected as City Mayor in 1967. He served as mayor from 1967 to 1971 and in 1980 to 1986.
The Big Three
In 1967, Davao Province was divided into Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. Davao became the regional capital of southern Mindanao; with the reorganization, it became the regional capital of the Davao Region and highly urbanized city in the province of Davao del Sur.
The city continued to grow well in the 70s but political development in the country also made a tremendous impact on the city, especially when former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972.
By the 1980s, the city was again plunged into turmoil. It became a bloody laboratory for urban guerrilla warfare waged by the communist New People’s Army.
In 1986, shortly after EDSA Revolution, the new government under Corazon Aquino appointed OIC officials across the country: Davao got Jacinto T. Rubillar (1986-1987) and Zafiro Respicio (1987-1988).
Rodrigo Duterte
In the 1988 elections, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, a former fiscal and a son of the last governor of Davao Province rose to prominence. He was elected mayor of Davao City for three consecutive terms until 1998.
Under his stewardship, peace and stability returned to the city. Davao was again enjoying years of unhampered economic progress.
In the late 1990s to the 21st century, as a testament to the city’s growth and competent governance, Davao was awarded by Asia Week Magazine as one of Asia’s Most Livable Cities. It was also dubbed as the Most Culture-Friendly City in the Philippines, The Philippines’ Most Livable City, One of the Safest Cities in the World and the list goes on.
In the 21st Century, Davao has steadily shifted into a more cosmopolitan city with advances in information and communications technology. It has become one of the country’s most modern and progressive cities.
Investments continue to pour, with capitalists expressing their intentions to put up businesses in the city.
Under the leadership of Mayor Inday Sara Z. Duterte, the City Government is focused on addressing her top 10 priorities— Poverty Alleviation, Infrastructure Development, Solid Waste Management, Education, Health, Agriculture, Tourism, Transportation Planning and Traffic Management, Peace and Order, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation.
After eight decades, Davao City is now the center of trade and commerce in Mindanao.
Not only is the city rich in agricultural products like bananas, durian, cacao and orchids and tropical plants, but also bustling with real estate development, manufacturing, and others.
This year, for example, the big-ticket High Priority Bus Project is expected to start -- where PUJs will be replaced by buses. This is a Davao City Government project in partnership with the Asian Development Bank.
Davao City continues to be recognized for people development and welfare, economic growth, security, environmental protection, good governance and many other legislation that are being emulated across the country. CIO